Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana reveals he turned down Barcelona move this summer

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana has revealed Barcelona tried to re-sign him in the summer but he felt it wasn’t the right time to return to Camp Nou.

Onana has delivered on his early promise since leaving the Barcelona academy for Ajax in 2015, emerging as the Dutch champions’ first-choice goalkeeper in recent years.

When was Onana a Barcelona player? Five things to know…

• Onana first gained attention while playing at the Samuel Eto’o Academy.
• The Cameroonian was snapped up by Barcelona in 2010.
• He spent five years with the club’s famous academy, La Masia.
• But after finding his path to the first team blocked, Onana moved to Ajax.
• He has since made 150 appearances for the Dutch club in all competitions.

The 23-year-old spent five years at La Masia after a stint with the Samuel Eto’o Academy but opted to leave for the Netherlands when he was still a teenager.

And after helping Ajax win the domestic double and reach the Champions League semi-finals last season, Onana has admitted there was interest from Barcelona in the summer.

“Barca came back for me this summer,” he said. “It’s my home, I was part of that club. They always want one of their own to re-sign.

“But it was not the right time to return. Maybe I’ll never get another chance! But it was not a good time to do it this summer.”

Had he returned to Barcelona, Onana would have been battling Marc-Andre ter Stegen for a place in the team.

And given that Ter Stegen is considered one of the world’s leading goalkeepers, Onana may have seen his game time severely reduced.

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“I had feedback from PSG”

Onana also admitted there was interest from Paris Saint-Germain, suggesting his agent held talks with the French champions.

However, the Cameroon international did not reveal how close he came to considering a move to PSG.

He added: “I had feedback from PSG. I had discussions with my agent. He told me of Paris and what he wanted to do.

“What happened remains between professionals. These are the things that are managed with my agent. We talked about it several times and he told me that PSG were interested.”